Chapter 2 – Preparations
The team hurried towards their rooms to put on the hero-clothing as fast as possible. Everybody comprehended the sincerity without the knowledge of the whole story. Robin had been in trouble many times before and the dark knight had always been worried and more terrific than normal, but this time it was totally different. Batman seemed to be terror-stricken and devastated. He was so worried about Robin that he allowed the team to help him with the rescue of his son. Nobody was normally allowed to intervene in Gotham problems. They found the same shocked expression on Wallys face, which made the rest of the team puzzle over which dead dangerous villain had their little brother in his force.
After two minutes they arrived at the bio-ship and recognized that Wally had already put the whole equipment inside. He was even more fidgety than usual and tried to calm his tensed nerves with the preparations. After he had finished the last handholds he got hit with the whole panic inside of him which he had tried to hide away. He started to hyperventilate and Kaldur put softly a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
Megan also hurried next to him and whispered soothing. "Breathe slower, Wally! Breathe slower! You have to put yourself together! Do it for Rob!"
The last word seemed to make Wallys condition even worse. His panic rose and he respired faster than seconds before. When he won´t stop breathing so fast he would blackout soon.
So Artemis went in front of Wally and slapped in his face as strong as she could. "Calm down, Wally! You are no help for him when you flake out."
The Speedster reassured visible and stopped to hyperventilate. "Thanks, Arty!"
There was silence inside the ship suddenly. Wally concentrated himself on his breathes, Artemis monitored vigilant the condition of the Speedster, Kaldur was engaged with his own thoughts and Megan tried to focus herself, because all the powerful emotions from her teammates would otherwise overwhelm her. Superboy stood still at the entrance of the ship and looked confused and alarmed at his friends.
He was the first who interrupted the unpleasant silence. "Tell us the truth, Wally! Who is this guy that broke out last night and why is he so dangerous? And the most important question, what will he do when he really caught Robin?"
Wally thought for a moment how much he could tell his friend without revealing Robins secret identity. Before the redhead could answer he was interrupted from a deep, intimidating voice.
"Take your seats, I know where he is. I will tell you what is necessary on our way. Megan here are the coordinates. It´s an old factory deep in the woods near Gotham. Take off immediately!"
The team followed the Dark Knight orders without hesitation. After they had left the hangar Batman faced the teenager with a frightful look and sighed audible.
"The man that broke out yesterday is Tony Zucco. He is a special villain, because he doesn´t want to rob and get a lot of money, he doesn´t fight for power and he is unfortunately no madman who doesn´t know what he´s doing, he is not interested in killing anybody involuntarily. He broke out for only one reason – he wants to kill Robin cruel, just like he did with his parents five years ago. Robin had to watch the murder of his parents but survived himself. Now Zucco broke out to bring his task to a close."
At this point all of the teenagers except of Wally gasped. No one had known Robins real life story and none of them had expected such a dark past when they thought about the cheerful, fun-loving teenager. They saw Robin rarely without a bright smile and cheerful words. How could he manage to make them chuckle and grin wide the whole day when he had experienced his parents death. Perhaps it was his way to protect himself, to make sure no one could touch his broken heart. Surly the team would look closer inside their youngest team member the next time they will hear him laugh. When they will!
